The Mountain of the Oath: Mount Hermon, the Watchers and the two births

The Mountain

A mountain named for an oath.

Mount Hermon stands 9,232 feet over the north end of Israel, Lebanon and Syria. The Book of Enoch says 200 angels came down on its summit and swore an oath together before they touched a single woman.

Documented RecordIn 1 Enoch 6:6 they bind each other with a curse so nobody can back out, and the book says that is how the mountain got its name. In Hebrew, herem means a thing put under a ban.

Documented RecordIn 1869 a British officer named Charles Warren climbed to the summit and found a ruined temple with a slab of limestone beside it. It came down in two pieces and went to the British Museum. The Greek on it, as the Enoch scholar George Nickelsburg reads it, says: by the command of the greatest and holy god, those who take the oath go on from here.

Documented RecordJoshua 12:5 puts Mount Hermon first on the list of places ruled by Og of Bashan, the giant king with the iron bed.

By the command of the greatest and holy god, those who take the oath go on from here.

The Two Hundred

Who came down, and what they taught.

1 Enoch 6:7 names the chiefs of tens. Chapter 8 lists what nine of them handed to human beings, and every item on the list is a way to get power without waiting for it.

Watcher	What he taught	Verse
Azazel	Swords, knives, shields and breastplates, the metals of the earth and the art of working them, bracelets, ornaments, the painting of the eyes, costly stones and dyes	1 Enoch 8:1
Semjaza	Enchantments and the cutting of roots. He is the leader, and the one who fears he will pay for it alone. Modern translations spell his name Shemihazah.	1 Enoch 6:3, 8:3
Armaros	The undoing of enchantments	1 Enoch 8:3
Baraqijal	Astrology	1 Enoch 8:3
Kokabel	The constellations	1 Enoch 8:3
Ezeqeel	The knowledge of the clouds	1 Enoch 8:3
Araqiel	The signs of the earth	1 Enoch 8:3
Shamsiel	The signs of the sun	1 Enoch 8:3
Sariel	The course of the moon	1 Enoch 8:3

Documented RecordThe women give birth to giants, and when the giants die their spirits stay on the earth. 1 Enoch 15:8 to 11 says they will be called evil spirits, and that they take no food and still hunger and thirst.

One Event, Two Grades

Babylon called them heroes.

Around 1640 BC a scribe named Ipiq-Aya copied the poem of Atrahasis onto three clay tablets in Babylonia. In 586 BC Babylon burned Jerusalem and marched its people east, and for about fifty years they lived inside that story. Put the two tellings side by side.

	Babylon	Israel
Who crosses over	Seven sages, the apkallu, come up out of the sea before the flood. Berossus, around 280 BC, names the first one Oannes.	200 Watchers come down on the summit of Mount Hermon in the days of Jared. 1 Enoch 6:6
What they bring	Writing, building and every craft of civilization.	Metalwork, root cutting, enchantments and the signs of the stars and the moon. 1 Enoch 7:1, 8:1 to 3
The mixture	A god named We-ila is killed and his flesh and blood are mixed into clay to make the first seven men and seven women. Atrahasis, tablet I	The sons of God take the daughters of men, and the Nephilim are on the earth. Genesis 6:2 to 4
The half-god	Gilgamesh, two-thirds god and one-third man. Gilgamesh, tablet I	The gibborim, the mighty ones of old, the men of the name. Genesis 6:4
Why the flood comes	The noise of the humans keeps Enlil awake.	The giants devour everything people had worked for, then the people, and the earth lays the accusation. 1 Enoch 7:3 to 6
Who is warned	Atrahasis, whose name means exceedingly wise, hears Enki whisper through a reed wall.	Noah, the son of Lamech. Genesis 6:13, 1 Enoch 10:1 to 3
The grade	Heroes. Families buried clay statues of the sages under their floors for protection.	The reason the world has to be washed.

After the Water

The bloodline made it through the flood.

Genesis 6:4 says the Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward. The Bible keeps finding them, all the way to David.

Verse	What it says
Numbers 13:33	The spies come back from Canaan and say, we saw the Nephilim there, and we looked like grasshoppers next to them.
Deuteronomy 3:11	Og, king of Bashan, sleeps in an iron bed nine cubits long and four cubits wide, which is over thirteen feet.
Joshua 12:5	Og ruled over Mount Hermon. It is the first place on the list.
1 Samuel 17:4 to 5	In the traditional Hebrew text Goliath of Gath stands six cubits and a span, close to ten feet, in a bronze coat of 5,000 shekels, about 125 pounds.
2 Samuel 21:20	A giant of Gath with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, 24 in all. Four giants from Gath fall to David and his men.

The Two Births

It is the same birth.

A being from heaven, a woman on earth and a child who is both. The church taught you to fear the first one and worship the second. The difference is what each child does with the hunger.

	The first birth	The second birth
From heaven	The sons of God, bene ha-elohim. Genesis 6:2	The Holy Spirit and the power of the Most High. Luke 1:35
On earth	The daughters of men	A girl in Nazareth
The child	The gibborim, the mighty ones. Genesis 6:4	El Gibbor, Mighty God. Isaiah 9:6
The name	Anshei ha-shem, the men of the name. Genesis 6:4	The name that is above every name. Philippians 2:9
The hunger	They eat everything people had worked for, and then they eat the people. 1 Enoch 7:3 to 5	Five loaves and two fish feed about 5,000 men, with twelve baskets left over. John 6:9 to 13
The blood	They drink it. 1 Enoch 7:5	He pours his own out for many. Matthew 26:28

Documented RecordThe Secret Book of John, found in a jar near Nag Hammadi in December 1945, says the builder of this world is a lion-faced serpent named Yaldabaoth, who sends his angels to the daughters of men to plant a counterfeit spirit. The Gospel of Philip, from the same jar, says Jesus would never have said my Father who is in heaven unless he had a second father besides.

A giant who takes, or a son who feeds.

Jesus on the Mountain

He went to their address.

Caesarea Philippi sits at the foot of Hermon, about 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee. It had a cave given to the god Pan and a white marble temple Herod the Great built to Caesar Augustus. Follow what Jesus does there, in order.

Matthew 16:13He walks the twelve into the district of Caesarea Philippi and asks, who do you say that I am?
Matthew 16:18On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
Matthew 17:1Six days later he takes Peter, James and John up a high mountain by themselves. His face shines like the sun.
Matthew 17:5A voice out of the cloud says, this is my beloved Son, listen to him.
Luke 9:37The very next day, at the bottom, he drives a spirit out of a boy the disciples could not help.
2 Peter 1:18Near the end of his life Peter writes, we heard this voice when we were with him on the holy mountain.
1 Peter 3:19Christ goes and makes a proclamation to the spirits in prison, the ones who disobeyed in the days of Noah.

TraditionSince at least the 300s, Christians have pointed to Mount Tabor as the mountain of the Transfiguration. Tabor is about 1,900 feet high and sits some 45 miles south.

Engineering InferenceThe gospel does not name the mountain. Hermon is 9,232 feet high, and it is the mountain they were already standing under. Six days is a slow walk to the top. On the summit where the 200 swore themselves to each other, the Father does the swearing: this is my Son.

The Book of the Watchers

Read it for yourself.

This is 1 Enoch, chapters 1 to 36, in the 1917 translation of R. H. Charles. Pieces of it in Aramaic turned up in Cave 4 at Qumran in 1952, copied before Jesus was born. The letter of Jude quotes it by name in verses 14 and 15. Start at chapter 6.

Chapters 1 to 5The Parable of EnochThe blessing on the elect and the judgment to come.

Chapter 1

¹The words of the blessing of Enoch, wherewith he blessed the elect and righteous, who will be living in the day of tribulation, when all the wicked and godless are to be removed. ²And he took up his parable and said—Enoch a righteous man, whose eyes were opened by God, saw the vision of the Holy One in the heavens, which the angels showed me, and from them I heard everything, and from them I understood as I saw, but not for this generation, but for a remote one which is for to come. ³Concerning the elect I said, and took up my parable concerning them: The Holy Great One will come forth from His dwelling, ⁴And the eternal God will tread upon the earth, (even) on Mount Sinai, [And appear from His camp] And appear in the strength of His might from the heaven of heavens. ⁵And all shall be smitten with fear, And the Watchers shall quake, And great fear and trembling shall seize them unto the ends of the earth. ⁶And the high mountains shall be shaken, And the high hills shall be made low, And shall melt like wax before the flame. ⁷And the earth shall be wholly rent in sunder, And all that is upon the earth shall perish, And there shall be a judgement upon all (men). ⁸But with the righteous He will make peace. And will protect the elect, And mercy shall be upon them. And they shall all belong to God, And they shall be prospered, And they shall all be blessed. And He will help them all, And light shall appear unto them, And He will make peace with them. ⁹And behold! He cometh with ten thousands of His holy ones To execute judgement upon all, And to destroy all the ungodly: And to convict all flesh Of all the works of their ungodliness which they have ungodly committed, And of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.

Chapter 2

¹Observe ye everything that takes place in the heaven, how they do not change their orbits, and the luminaries which are in the heaven, how they all rise and set in order each in its season, and transgress not against their appointed order. ²Behold ye the earth, and give heed to the things which take place upon it from first to last, how steadfast they are, how none of the things upon earth change, but all the works of God appear to you. ³Behold the summer and the winter, how the whole earth is filled with water, and clouds and dew and rain lie upon it.

Chapter 3

¹Observe and see how (in the winter) all the trees seem as though they had withered and shed all their leaves, except fourteen trees, which do not lose their foliage but retain the old foliage from two to three years till the new comes.

Chapter 4

¹And again, observe ye the days of summer how the sun is above the earth over against it. And you seek shade and shelter by reason of the heat of the sun, and the earth also burns with growing heat, and so you cannot tread on the earth, or on a rock by reason of its heat.

Chapter 5

¹Observe ye how the trees cover themselves with green leaves and bear fruit: wherefore give ye heed and know with regard to all His works, and recognize how He that liveth for ever hath made them so. ²And all His works go on thus from year to year for ever, and all the tasks which they accomplish for Him, and their tasks change not, but according as God hath ordained so is it done. ³And behold how the sea and the rivers in like manner accomplish and change not their tasks from His commandments. ⁴But ye—ye have not been steadfast, nor done the commandments of the Lord, But ye have turned away and spoken proud and hard words With your impure mouths against His greatness. Oh, ye hard-hearted, ye shall find no peace. ⁵Therefore shall ye execrate your days, And the years of your life shall perish, And the years of your destruction shall be multiplied in eternal execration, And ye shall find no mercy. 6a. In those days ye shall make your names an eternal execration unto all the righteous, b. And by you shall all who curse, curse, And all the sinners and godless shall imprecate by you, 7c. And for you the godless there shall be a curse. 6d. And all the . . . shall rejoice, e. And there shall be forgiveness of sins, f. And every mercy and peace and forbearance: g. There shall be salvation unto them, a goodly light. i. And for all of you sinners there shall be no salvation, j. But on you all shall abide a curse. 7a. But for the elect there shall be light and joy and peace, b. And they shall inherit the earth. 8. And then there shall be bestowed upon the elect wisdom, And they shall all live and never again sin, Either through ungodliness or through pride: But they who are wise shall be humble. 9. And they shall not again transgress, Nor shall they sin all the days of their life, Nor shall they die of (the divine) anger or wrath, But they shall complete the number of the days of their life. And their lives shall be increased in peace, And the years of their joy shall be multiplied, In eternal gladness and peace, All the days of their life.

Chapters 6 to 11The Fall of the WatchersThe oath on Hermon, the giants, what the Watchers taught, and the sentence passed on them.

Chapter 6

¹And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. ²And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: ‘Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.’ ³And Semjâzâ, who was their leader, said unto them: ‘I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.’ ⁴And they all answered him and said: ‘Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.’ ⁵Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. ⁶And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. ⁷And these are the names of their leaders: Samîazâz, their leader, Arâkîba, Râmêêl, Kôkabîêl, Tâmîêl, Râmîêl, Dânêl, Êzêqêêl, Barâqîjâl, Asâêl, Armârôs, Batârêl, Anânêl, Zaqîêl, Samsâpêêl, Satarêl, Tûrêl, Jômjâêl, Sariêl. ⁸These are their chiefs of tens.

Chapter 7

¹And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. ²And they became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: ³Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. ⁴And when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. ⁵And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood. ⁶Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones.

Chapter 8

¹And Azâzêl taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. ²And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. ³Semjâzâ taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, Armârôs the resolving of enchantments, Barâqîjâl (taught) astrology, Kôkabêl the constellations, Êzêqêêl the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiêl the signs of the earth, Shamsiêl the signs of the sun, and Sariêl the course of the moon. ⁴And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven . . .

Chapter 9

¹And then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood being shed upon the earth, and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth. ²And they said one to another: ‘The earth made without inhabitant cries the voice of their cryings up to the gates of heaven. ³And now to you, the holy ones of heaven, the souls of men make their suit, saying, “Bring our cause before the Most High.”’ ⁴And they said to the Lord of the ages: ‘Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings, and God of the ages, the throne of Thy glory (standeth) unto all the generations of the ages, and Thy name holy and glorious and blessed unto all the ages! ⁵Thou hast made all things, and power over all things hast Thou: and all things are naked and open in Thy sight, and Thou seest all things, and nothing can hide itself from Thee. ⁶Thou seest what Azâzêl hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven, which men were striving to learn: ⁷And Semjâzâ, to whom Thou hast given authority to bear rule over his associates. ⁸And they have gone to the daughters of men upon the earth, and have slept with the women, and have defiled themselves, and revealed to them all kinds of sins. ⁹And the women have borne giants, and the whole earth has thereby been filled with blood and unrighteousness. ¹⁰And now, behold, the souls of those who have died are crying and making their suit to the gates of heaven, and their lamentations have ascended: and cannot cease because of the lawless deeds which are wrought on the earth. ¹¹And Thou knowest all things before they come to pass, and Thou seest these things and Thou dost suffer them, and Thou dost not say to us what we are to do to them in regard to these.’

Chapter 10

¹Then said the Most High, the Holy and Great One spake, and sent Uriel to the son of Lamech, and said to him: ²’Go to Noah and tell him in my name “Hide thyself!” and reveal to him the end that is approaching: that the whole earth will be destroyed, and a deluge is about to come upon the whole earth, and will destroy all that is on it. ³And now instruct him that he may escape and his seed may be preserved for all the generations of the world.’ ⁴And again the Lord said to Raphael: ‘Bind Azâzêl hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dûdâêl, and cast him therein. ⁵And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light. ⁶And on the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into the fire. ⁷And heal the earth which the angels have corrupted, and proclaim the healing of the earth, that they may heal the plague, and that all the children of men may not perish through all the secret things that the Watchers have disclosed and have taught their sons. ⁸And the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azâzêl: to him ascribe all sin.’ ⁹And to Gabriel said the Lord: ‘Proceed against the bastards and the reprobates, and against the children of fornication: and destroy [the children of fornication and] the children of the Watchers from amongst men [and cause them to go forth]: send them one against the other that they may destroy each other in battle: for length of days shall they not have. ¹⁰And no request that they (i.e. their fathers) make of thee shall be granted unto their fathers on their behalf; for they hope to live an eternal life, and that each one of them will live five hundred years.’ ¹¹And the Lord said unto Michael: ‘Go, bind Semjâzâ and his associates who have united themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves with them in all their uncleanness. ¹²And when their sons have slain one another, and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their judgement and of their consummation, till the judgement that is for ever and ever is consummated. ¹³In those days they shall be led off to the abyss of fire: and to the torment and the prison in which they shall be confined for ever. ¹⁴And whosoever shall be condemned and destroyed will from thenceforth be bound together with them to the end of all generations. ¹⁵And destroy all the spirits of the reprobate and the children of the Watchers, because they have wronged mankind. ¹⁶Destroy all wrong from the face of the earth and let every evil work come to an end: and let the plant of righteousness and truth appear: and it shall prove a blessing; the works of righteousness and truth shall be planted in truth and joy for evermore. ¹⁷And then shall all the righteous escape, And shall live till they beget thousands of children, And all the days of their youth and their old age Shall they complete in peace. ¹⁸And then shall the whole earth be tilled in righteousness, and shall all be planted with trees and be full of blessing. ¹⁹And all desirable trees shall be planted on it, and they shall plant vines on it: and the vine which they plant thereon shall yield wine in abundance, and as for all the seed which is sown thereon each measure (of it) shall bear a thousand, and each measure of olives shall yield ten presses of oil. ²⁰And cleanse thou the earth from all oppression, and from all unrighteousness, and from all sin, and from all godlessness: and all the uncleanness that is wrought upon the earth destroy from off the earth. ²¹And all the children of men shall become righteous, and all nations shall offer adoration and shall praise Me, and all shall worship Me. ²²And the earth shall be cleansed from all defilement, and from all sin, and from all punishment, and from all torment, and I will never again send (them) upon it from generation to generation and for ever.

Chapter 11

¹And in those days I will open the store chambers of blessing which are in the heaven, so as to send them down upon the earth over the work and labour of the children of men. ²And truth and peace shall be associated together throughout all the days of the world and throughout all the generations of men.’

Chapters 12 to 16The Dream Vision of EnochEnoch carries the Watchers' petition to heaven and brings back the answer, with the origin of evil spirits in chapter 15.

Chapter 12

¹Before these things Enoch was hidden, and no one of the children of men knew where he was hidden, and where he abode, and what had become of him. ²And his activities had to do with the Watchers, and his days were with the holy ones. ³And I Enoch was blessing the Lord of majesty and the King of the ages, and lo! the Watchers called me—Enoch the scribe—and said to me: ⁴‘Enoch, thou scribe of righteousness, go, declare to the Watchers of the heaven who have left the high heaven, the holy eternal place, and have defiled themselves with women, and have done as the children of earth do, and have taken unto themselves wives: ⁵“Ye have wrought great destruction on the earth: And ye shall have no peace nor forgiveness of sin: and inasmuch as they delight themselves in their children, ⁶The murder of their beloved ones shall they see, and over the destruction of their children shall they lament, and shall make supplication unto eternity, but mercy and peace shall ye not attain.”’

Chapter 13

¹And Enoch went and said: ‘Azâzêl, thou shalt have no peace: a severe sentence has gone forth against thee to put thee in bonds: ²And thou shalt not have toleration nor request granted to thee, because of the unrighteousness which thou hast taught, and because of all the works of godlessness and unrighteousness and sin which thou hast shown to men.’ ³Then I went and spoke to them all together, and they were all afraid, and fear and trembling seized them. ⁴And they besought me to draw up a petition for them that they might find forgiveness, and to read their petition in the presence of the Lord of heaven. ⁵For from thenceforward they could not speak (with Him) nor lift up their eyes to heaven for shame of their sins for which they had been condemned. ⁶Then I wrote out their petition, and the prayer in regard to their spirits and their deeds individually and in regard to their requests that they should have forgiveness and length. ⁷And I went off and sat down at the waters of Dan, in the land of Dan, to the south of the west of Hermon: I read their petition till I fell asleep. ⁸And behold a dream came to me, and visions fell down upon me, and I saw visions of chastisement, and a voice came bidding (me) I to tell it to the sons of heaven, and reprimand them. ⁹And when I awaked, I came unto them, and they were all sitting gathered together, weeping in ’Abelsjâîl, which is between Lebanon and Sênêsêr, with their faces covered. ¹⁰And I recounted before them all the visions which I had seen in sleep, and I began to speak the words of righteousness, and to reprimand the heavenly Watchers.

Chapter 14

¹The book of the words of righteousness, and of the reprimand of the eternal Watchers in accordance with the command of the Holy Great One in that vision. ²I saw in my sleep what I will now say with a tongue of flesh and with the breath of my mouth: which the Great One has given to men to converse therewith and understand with the heart. ³As He has created and given to man the power of understanding the word of wisdom, so hath He created me also and given me the power of reprimanding the Watchers, the children of heaven. ⁴I wrote out your petition, and in my vision it appeared thus, that your petition will not be granted unto you throughout all the days of eternity, and that judgement has been finally passed upon you: yea (your petition) will not be granted unto you. ⁵And from henceforth you shall not ascend into heaven unto all eternity, and in bonds of the earth the decree has gone forth to bind you for all the days of the world. ⁶And (that) previously you shall have seen the destruction of your beloved sons and ye shall have no pleasure in them, but they shall fall before you by the sword. ⁷And your petition on their behalf shall not be granted, nor yet on your own: even though you weep and pray and speak all the words contained in the writing which I have written. ⁸And the vision was shown to me thus: Behold, in the vision clouds invited me and a mist summoned me, and the course of the stars and the lightnings sped and hastened me, and the winds in the vision caused me to fly and lifted me upward, and bore me into heaven. ⁹And I went in till I drew nigh to a wall which is built of crystals and surrounded by tongues of fire: and it began to affright me. ¹⁰And I went into the tongues of fire and drew nigh to a large house which was built of crystals: and the walls of the house were like a tesselated floor (made) of crystals, and its groundwork was of crystal. ¹¹Its ceiling was like the path of the stars and the lightnings, and between them were fiery cherubim, and their heaven was (clear as) water. ¹²A flaming fire surrounded the walls, and its portals blazed with fire. ¹³And I entered into that house, and it was hot as fire and cold as ice: there were no delights of life therein: fear covered me, and trembling got hold upon me. ¹⁴And as I quaked and trembled, I fell upon my face. ¹⁵And I beheld a vision, And lo! there was a second house, greater than the former, and the entire portal stood open before me, and it was built of flames of fire. ¹⁶And in every respect it so excelled in splendour and magnificence and extent that I cannot describe to you its splendour and its extent. ¹⁷And its floor was of fire, and above it were lightnings and the path of the stars, and its ceiling also was flaming fire. ¹⁸And I looked and saw therein a lofty throne: its appearance was as crystal, and the wheels thereof as the shining sun, and there was the vision of cherubim. ¹⁹And from underneath the throne came streams of flaming fire so that I could not look thereon. ²⁰And the Great Glory sat thereon, and His raiment shone more brightly than the sun and was whiter than any snow. ²¹None of the angels could enter and could behold His face by reason of the magnificence and glory and no flesh could behold Him. ²²The flaming fire was round about Him, and a great fire stood before Him, and none around could draw nigh Him: ten thousand times ten thousand (stood) before Him, yet He needed no counsellor. ²³And the most holy ones who were nigh to Him did not leave by night nor depart from Him. ²⁴And until then I had been prostrate on my face, trembling: and the Lord called me with His own mouth, and said to me: ‘Come hither, Enoch, and hear my word.’ ²⁵And one of the holy ones came to me and waked me, and He made me rise up and approach the door: and I bowed my face downwards.

Chapter 15

¹And He answered and said to me, and I heard His voice: ‘Fear not, Enoch, thou righteous man and scribe of righteousness: approach hither and hear my voice. ²And go, say to the Watchers of heaven, who have sent thee to intercede for them: "You should intercede for men, and not men for you: ³Wherefore have ye left the high, holy, and eternal heaven, and lain with women, and defiled yourselves with the daughters of men and taken to yourselves wives, and done like the children of earth, and begotten giants (as your) sons? ⁴And though ye were holy, spiritual, living the eternal life, you have defiled yourselves with the blood of women, and have begotten (children) with the blood of flesh, and, as the children of men, have lusted after flesh and blood as those also do who die and perish. ⁵Therefore have I given them wives also that they might impregnate them, and beget children by them, that thus nothing might be wanting to them on earth. ⁶But you were formerly spiritual, living the eternal life, and immortal for all generations of the world. ⁷And therefore I have not appointed wives for you; for as for the spiritual ones of the heaven, in heaven is their dwelling. ⁸And now, the giants, who are produced from the spirits and flesh, shall be called evil spirits upon the earth, and on the earth shall be their dwelling. ⁹Evil spirits have proceeded from their bodies; because they are born from men and from the holy Watchers is their beginning and primal origin; they shall be evil spirits on earth, and evil spirits shall they be called. ¹⁰[As for the spirits of heaven, in heaven shall be their dwelling, but as for the spirits of the earth which were born upon the earth, on the earth shall be their dwelling.] ¹¹And the spirits of the giants afflict, oppress, destroy, attack, do battle, and work destruction on the earth, and cause trouble: they take no food, but nevertheless hunger and thirst, and cause offences. ¹²And these spirits shall rise up against the children of men and against the women, because they have proceeded from them.

Chapter 16

¹From the days of the slaughter and destruction and death of the giants, from the souls of whose flesh the spirits, having gone forth, shall destroy without incurring judgement—thus shall they destroy until the day of the consummation, the great judgement in which the age shall be consummated, over the Watchers and the godless, yea, shall be wholly consummated." ²And now as to the watchers who have sent thee to intercede for them, who had been aforetime in heaven, (say to them): ³“You have been in heaven, but all the mysteries had not yet been revealed to you, and you knew worthless ones, and these in the hardness of your hearts you have made known to the women, and through these mysteries women and men work much evil on earth." ⁴Say to them therefore: “You have no peace.”’

Chapters 17 to 36The Journeys of EnochEnoch is shown the ends of the earth, the prison of the angels, Sheol and the tree of life.

Chapter 17

¹And they took and brought me to a place in which those who were there were like flaming fire, and, when they wished, they appeared as men. ²And they brought me to the place of darkness, and to a mountain the point of whose summit reached to heaven. ³And I saw the places of the luminaries and the treasuries of the stars and of the thunder and in the uttermost depths, where were a fiery bow and arrows and their quiver, and a fiery sword and all the lightnings. ⁴And they took me to the living waters, and to the fire of the west, which receives every setting of the sun. ⁵And I came to a river of fire in which the fire flows like water and discharges itself into the great sea towards the west. ⁶I saw the great rivers and came to the great river and to the great darkness, and went to the place where no flesh walks. ⁷I saw the mountains of the darkness of winter and the place whence all the waters of the deep flow. ⁸I saw the mouths of all the rivers of the earth and the mouth of the deep.

Chapter 18

¹I saw the treasuries of all the winds: I saw how He had furnished with them the whole creation and the firm foundations of the earth. ²And I saw the corner-stone of the earth: I saw the four winds which bear [the earth and] the firmament of the heaven. ³And I saw how the winds stretch out the vaults of heaven, and have their station between heaven and earth: these are the pillars of the heaven. ⁴I saw the winds of heaven which turn and bring the circumference of the sun and all the stars to their setting. ⁵I saw the winds on the earth carrying the clouds: I saw the paths of the angels. I saw at the end of the earth the firmament of the heaven above. ⁶And I proceeded and saw a place which burns day and night, where there are seven mountains of magnificent stones, three towards the east, and three towards the south. ⁷And as for those towards the east, one was of coloured stone, and one of pearl, and one of jacinth, and those towards the south of red stone. ⁸But the middle one reached to heaven like the throne of God, of alabaster, and the summit of the throne was of sapphire. ⁹And I saw a flaming fire. ¹⁰And beyond these mountains Is a region the end of the great earth: there the heavens were completed. ¹¹And I saw a deep abyss, with columns of heavenly fire, and among them I saw columns of fire fall, which were beyond measure alike towards the height and towards the depth. ¹²And beyond that abyss I saw a place which had no firmament of the heaven above, and no firmly founded earth beneath it: there was no water upon it, and no birds, but it was a waste and horrible place. ¹³I saw there seven stars like great burning mountains, and to me, when I inquired regarding them, ¹⁴The angel said: ‘This place is the end of heaven and earth: this has become a prison for the stars and the host of heaven. ¹⁵And the stars which roll over the fire are they which have transgressed the commandment of the Lord in the beginning of their rising, because they did not come forth at their appointed times. ¹⁶And He was wroth with them, and bound them till the time when their guilt should be consummated (even) for ten thousand years.’

Chapter 19

¹And Uriel said to me: ‘Here shall stand the angels who have connected themselves with women, and their spirits assuming many different forms are defiling mankind and shall lead them astray into sacrificing to demons as gods, (here shall they stand,) till the day of the great judgement in which they shall be judged till they are made an end of. ²And the women also of the angels who went astray shall become sirens.’ ³And I, Enoch, alone saw the vision, the ends of all things: and no man shall see as I have seen.

Chapter 20

¹And these are the names of the holy angels who watch. ²Uriel, one of the holy angels, who is over the world and over Tartarus. ³Raphael, one of the holy angels, who is over the spirits of men. ⁴Raguel, one of the holy angels who takes vengeance on the world of the luminaries. ⁵Michael, one of the holy angels, to wit, he that is set over the best part of mankind and over chaos. ⁶Saraqâêl, one of the holy angels, who is set over the spirits, who sin in the spirit. ⁷Gabriel, one of the holy angels, who is over Paradise and the serpents and the Cherubim. ⁸Remiel, one of the holy angels, whom God set over those who rise.

Chapter 21

¹And I proceeded to where things were chaotic. ²And I saw there something horrible: I saw neither a heaven above nor a firmly founded earth, but a place chaotic and horrible. ³And there I saw seven stars of the heaven bound together in it, like great mountains and burning with fire. ⁴Then I said: ‘For what sin are they bound, and on what account have they been cast in hither?’ ⁵Then said Uriel, one of the holy angels, who was with me, and was chief over them, and said: ‘Enoch, why dost thou ask, and why art thou eager for the truth? ⁶These are of the number of the stars of heaven, which have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and are bound here till ten thousand years, the time entailed by their sins, are consummated.’ ⁷And from thence I went to another place, which was still more horrible than the former, and I saw a horrible thing: a great fire there which burnt and blazed, and the place was cleft as far as the abyss, being full of great descending columns of fire: neither its extent or magnitude could I see, nor could I conjecture. ⁸Then I said: ‘How fearful is the place and how terrible to look upon!’ ⁹Then Uriel answered me, one of the holy angels who was with me, and said unto me: ‘Enoch, why hast thou such fear and affright?’ And I answered: ‘Because of this fearful place, and because of the spectacle of the pain.’ ¹⁰And he said unto me: ‘This place is the prison of the angels, and here they will be imprisoned for ever.’

Chapter 22

¹And thence I went to another place, and he showed me in the west another great and high mountain [and] of hard rock. ²And there was in it four hollow places, deep and wide and very smooth. How smooth are the hollow places and deep and dark to look at. ³Then Raphael answered, one of the holy angels who was with me, and said unto me: ‘These hollow places have been created for this very purpose, that the spirits of the souls of the dead should assemble therein, yea that all the souls of the children of men should assemble here. ⁴And these places have been made to receive them till the day of their judgement and till their appointed period [till the period appointed], till the great judgement (comes) upon them.’ ⁵I saw the spirits of the children of men who were dead, and their voice went forth to heaven and made suit. ⁶Then I asked Raphael the angel who was with me, and I said unto him: ‘This spirit—whose is it, whose voice goeth forth and maketh suit?’ ⁷And he answered me saying: ‘This is the spirit which went forth from Abel, whom his brother Cain slew, and he makes his suit against him till his seed is destroyed from the face of the earth, and his seed is annihilated from amongst the seed of men.’ ⁸Then I asked regarding it, and regarding all the hollow places: ’Why is one separated from the other?’ ⁹And he answered me and said unto me: ‘These three have been made that the spirits of the dead might be separated. And such a division has been made for the spirits of the righteous, in which there is the bright spring of water. ¹⁰And such has been made for sinners when they die and are buried in the earth and judgement has not been executed on them in their lifetime. ¹¹Here their spirits shall be set apart in this great pain till the great day of judgement and punishment and torment of those who curse for ever and retribution for their spirits. There He shall bind them for ever. ¹²And such a division has been made for the spirits of those who make their suit, who make disclosures concerning their destruction, when they were slain in the days of the sinners. ¹³Such has been made for the spirits of men who were not righteous but sinners, who were complete in transgression, and of the transgressors they shall be companions: but their spirits shall not be slain in the day of judgement nor shall they be raised from thence. ¹⁴Then I blessed the Lord of glory and said: ‘Blessed be my Lord, the Lord of righteousness, who ruleth for ever.’

Chapter 23

¹From thence I went to another place to the west of the ends of the earth. ²And I saw a burning fire which ran without resting, and paused not from its course day or night but (ran) regularly. ³And I asked saying: ‘What is this which rests not?’ ⁴Then Raguel, one of the holy angels who was with me, answered me and said unto me: ‘This course of fire which thou hast seen is the fire in the west which persecutes all the luminaries of heaven.’

Chapter 24

¹And from thence I went to another place of the earth, and he showed me a mountain range of fire which burnt day and night. ²And I went beyond it and saw seven magnificent mountains all differing each from the other, and the stones (thereof) were magnificent and beautiful, magnificent as a whole, of glorious appearance and fair exterior: three towards the east, one founded on the other, and three towards the south, one upon the other, and deep rough ravines, no one of which joined with any other. ³And the seventh mountain was in the midst of these, and it excelled them in height, resembling the seat of a throne: and fragrant trees encircled the throne. ⁴And amongst them was a tree such as I had never yet smelt, neither was any amongst them nor were others like it: it had a fragrance beyond all fragrance, and its leaves and blooms and wood wither not for ever: and its fruit is beautiful, and its fruit resembles the dates of a palm. ⁵Then I said: ‘How beautiful is this tree, and fragrant, and its leaves are fair, and its blooms very delightful in appearance.’ ⁶Then answered Michael, one of the holy and honoured angels who was with me, and was their leader.

Chapter 25

¹And he said unto me: ‘Enoch, why dost thou ask me regarding the fragrance of the tree, and why dost thou wish to learn the truth?’ ²Then I answered him saying: ‘I wish to know about everything, but especially about this tree.’ ³And he answered saying: ‘This high mountain which thou hast seen, whose summit is like the throne of God, is His throne, where the Holy Great One, the Lord of Glory, the Eternal King, will sit, when He shall come down to visit the earth with goodness. ⁴And as for this fragrant tree no mortal is permitted to touch it till the great judgement, when He shall take vengeance on all and bring (everything) to its consummation for ever. It shall then be given to the righteous and holy. ⁵Its fruit shall be for food to the elect: it shall be transplanted to the holy place, to the temple of the Lord, the Eternal King. ⁶Then shall they rejoice with joy and be glad, And into the holy place shall they enter; And its fragrance shall be in their bones, And they shall live a long life on earth, Such as thy fathers lived: And in their days shall no sorrow or plague Or torment or calamity touch them.’ ⁷Then blessed I the God of Glory, the Eternal King, who hath prepared such things for the righteous, and hath created them and promised to give to them.

Chapter 26

¹And I went from thence to the middle of the earth, and I saw a blessed place in which there were trees with branches abiding and blooming [of a dismembered tree]. ²And there I saw a holy mountain, and underneath the mountain to the east there was a stream and it flowed towards the south. ³And I saw towards the east another mountain higher than this, and between them a deep and narrow ravine: in it also ran a stream underneath the mountain. ⁴And to the west thereof there was another mountain, lower than the former and of small elevation, and a ravine deep and dry between them: and another deep and dry ravine was at the extremities of the three mountains. ⁵And all the ravines were deep and narrow, (being formed) of hard rock, and trees were not planted upon them. ⁶And I marvelled at the rocks, and I marvelled at the ravine, yea, I marveled very much.

Chapter 27

¹Then said I: ‘For what object is this blessed land, which is entirely filled with trees, and this accursed valley between?’ ²Then Uriel, one of the holy angels who was with me, answered and said: ‘This accursed valley is for those who are accursed for ever: Here shall all the accursed be gathered together who utter with their lips against the Lord unseemly words and of His glory speak hard things. Here shall they be gathered together, and here shall be their place of judgement. ³In the last days there shall be upon them the spectacle of righteous judgement in the presence of the righteous for ever: here shall the merciful bless the Lord of glory, the Eternal King. ⁴In the days of judgement over the former, they shall bless Him for the mercy in accordance with which He has assigned them (their lot).’ ⁵Then I blessed the Lord of Glory and set forth His glory and lauded Him gloriously.

Chapter 28

¹And thence I went towards the east, into the midst of the mountain range of the desert, and I saw a wilderness and it was solitary, full of trees and plants. ²And water gushed forth from above. ³Rushing like a copious watercourse [which flowed] towards the north-west it caused clouds and dew to ascend on every side.

Chapter 29

¹And thence I went to another place in the desert, and approached to the east of this mountain range. ²And there I saw aromatic trees exhaling the fragrance of frankincense and myrrh, and the trees also were similar to the almond tree.

Chapter 30

¹And beyond these, I went afar to the east, and I saw another place, a valley (full) of water. ²And therein there was a tree, the colour (?) of fragrant trees such as the mastic. ³And on the sides of those valleys I saw fragrant cinnamon. And beyond these I proceeded to the east.

Chapter 31

¹And I saw other mountains, and amongst them were groves of trees, and there flowed forth from them nectar, which is named sarara and galbanum. ²And beyond these mountains I saw another mountain to the east of the ends of the earth, whereon were aloe-trees, and all the trees were full of stacte, being like almond-trees. ³And when one burnt it, it smelt sweeter than any fragrant odour.

Chapter 32

¹And after these fragrant odours, as I looked towards the north over the mountains I saw seven mountains full of choice nard and fragrant trees and cinnamon and pepper. ²And thence I went over the summits of all these mountains, far towards the east of the earth, and passed above the Erythraean sea and went far from it, and passed over the angel Zotîêl. ³And I came to the Garden of Righteousness, and saw beyond those trees many large trees growing there and of goodly fragrance, large, very beautiful and glorious, and the tree of wisdom whereof they eat and know great wisdom. ⁴That tree is in height like the fir, and its leaves are like (those of) the Carob tree: and its fruit is like the clusters of the vine, very beautiful: and the fragrance of the tree penetrates afar. ⁵Then I said: ‘How beautiful is the tree, and how attractive is its look!’ ⁶Then Raphael the holy angel, who was with me, answered me and said: ‘This is the tree of wisdom, of which thy father old (in years) and thy aged mother, who were before thee, have eaten, and they learnt wisdom and their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked and they were driven out of the garden.’

Chapter 33

¹And from thence I went to the ends of the earth and saw there great beasts, and each differed from the other; and (I saw) birds also differing in appearance and beauty and voice, the one differing from the other. ²And to the east of those beasts I saw the ends of the earth whereon the heaven rests, and the portals of the heaven open. ³And I saw how the stars of heaven come forth, and I counted the portals out of which they proceed, and wrote down all their outlets, of each individual star by itself, according to their number and their names, their courses and their positions, and their times and their months, as Uriel the holy angel who was with me showed me. ⁴He showed all things to me and wrote them down for me: also their names he wrote for me, and their laws and their companies.

Chapter 34

¹And from thence I went towards the north to the ends of the earth, and there I saw a great and glorious device at the ends of the whole earth. ²And here I saw three portals of heaven open in the heaven: through each of them proceed north winds: when they blow there is cold, hail, frost, snow, dew, and rain. ³And out of one portal they blow for good: but when they blow through the other two portals, it is with violence and affliction on the earth, and they blow with violence.

Chapter 35

¹And from thence I went towards the west to the ends of the earth, and saw there three portals of the heaven open such as I had seen in the east, the same number of portals, and the same number of outlets.

Chapter 36

¹And from thence I went to the south to the ends of the earth, and saw there three open portals of the heaven: and thence there come dew, rain, and wind. ²And from thence I went to the east to the ends of the heaven, and saw here the three eastern portals of heaven open and small portals above them. ³Through each of these small portals pass the stars of heaven and run their course to the west on the path which is shown to them. ⁴And as often as I saw I blessed always the Lord of Glory, and I continued to bless the Lord of Glory who has wrought great and glorious wonders, to show the greatness of His work to the angels and to spirits and to men, that they might praise His work and all His creation: that they might see the work of His might and praise the great work of His hands and bless Him for ever.

Thank you, and I love you.

The mountain still asks which oath you take.

Open Genesis 6 and Luke 1 tonight and read them out loud, one after the other.
Write down the one thing you keep consuming that never fills you, and cut it for seven days.
Feed one person this week with your time, your money or your gift, before they ask you.
When the voice says you are too small, too late or too broken, say out loud: my Father who is in heaven.

Enter the Community

Sources

The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch), translated by R. H. Charles, 1917. Chapters 1 to 36, the Book of the Watchers. Public domain.
The Holy Bible. Genesis 6:1 to 4 · Numbers 13:33 · Deuteronomy 3:11 · Joshua 12:5 · 1 Samuel 17 · 2 Samuel 21 · Isaiah 9:6 · Matthew 16 and 17 · Luke 1:35, 9:37 · John 6 · Philippians 2:9 · 1 Peter 3:19 · 2 Peter 1:18, 2:4 · Jude 14 to 15.
Atrahasis, Old Babylonian version. Three tablets signed by the scribe Ipiq-Aya in the reign of Ammi-saduqa.
The Epic of Gilgamesh, tablet I. Two-thirds god and one-third man.
Berossus, Babyloniaca, c. 280 BC. Oannes and the sages before the flood.
The Secret Book of John and the Gospel of Philip. Nag Hammadi library, found December 1945.
Charles Warren, 1869. The summit temple of Mount Hermon and its Greek inscription, now in the British Museum. Reading after George W. E. Nickelsburg.

Notes on the text

Charles marks restored and doubtful words with brackets. Round brackets are words he supplied for the English. Where the Ethiopic and the Greek copies differ, this page prints the Ethiopic. Charles spells the leader Semjaza. The same name is Shemihazah in the Aramaic.

Lane Legend

Documented Record Stated in the source text named beside it. Tradition Handed down by the early church or the rabbis. Engineering Inference A connection drawn across sources.